Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s stewardship in Osun State has been generating all manner of comments in recent times. From the  indefensible,  infantile, misinformed and misguided viewpoints  to the impressive analyses of his actions and inactions, the comments reveal a lot about this man of many parts who has not only done very well for his people, but has also been fair to all sections of the state in his policy implementation. Although Aregbesola is frequently the butt of criticisms, there is no doubt that he means well for his people and does what he sees to be in their best interest at all times.
 

 
While some of the electorate’s high expectations from Aregbesola’s second term in office have, to an extent, not been met, it is glaring that Nigeria is experiencing grave socio-economic difficulties from which Osun State is not immune.
 
The situation of the state and the entire country is getting precarious and urgent steps need to be taken to address the problems. Problems of corruption, looting and mismanagement of funds and their disastrous consequences have virtually brought Nigeria to its knees. Worse still, unable to translate her childhood success into adult glory, Nigeria has become a terrain where misconceptions and logical inconsistencies are elevated as the best strategies for survival. That has always been the story of Nigeria.
 
In responding to the peculiarities of the moment, however, I have no doubt in my mind that blackmailers who once relished making  distasteful comments about Aregbesola would by now have started counting the beans of their collective selfishness, while those who, out of pure mischief and political miscalculations, presented his government as lacking in speed and vision, would have been found out as pathetic naysayers whose negative pronouncements cannot change the people’s views about this remarkable governor.
 
The governor deserves commendation for his sound economic decisions that midwifed a fresh agenda for value-based leadership in Osun State, especially, at a time that “stomach infrastructure” has become the parameter for gauging performance. He deserves appreciation, not only for making the best use of the opportunities that these hard times present, but also for using his immense experience to help a great number of his people and for making the state among those to be reckoned with in matters of good governance.  It is, indeed, gratifying that his prescriptions for the problem of unpaid salaries have now become a template for dealing with that issue in other states of the federation.
 
In fairness to Aregbesola, Osun State has in the last six years been led on the path of good governance marked by transparency, prudence, high level of probity and accountability. With this in mind, the reason the governor is being used as a scapegoat by some comic heroes and surrogate actors is difficult for me and many other stakeholders in the state to grasp.
 
For instance, since agriculture was seen as a viable alternative to oil, Aregbesola’s government has succeeded in revamping farm settlements and ranches for animal production. Thousands of hectares of land were cultivated by the government to aid massive food production of crops like maize, beans and melon. In order to meet the school-feeding needs of children who consume over 150 crates of eggs per week, as well as other nutritional needs in the state, his government embarked on poultry farming and coco yam cultivation. This is in addition to the sum of N851, 669, 532.53 given to farmers as loans under the Quick Impact Intervention Programme 1 and 2 Schemes. Through QIIP, fertilizers were sold to genuine farmers at subsidized rates. Pesticides were also made available for the purpose of boosting harvests. O’Honey, O’Ram, and O’Fish schemes have also been reinvigorated with a view to meeting the needs of the people.
 
With the present paucity of funds occasioned by dwindling allocations from the Federation Account and the sharp drop in Internally Generated Revenues, the Osun State Government has built over 1,000 kilometres of roads across the state. Ongoing are about 10 different projects traversing different parts of the state. Among them are Old Garage – Ila-Odo/Kwara Boundary Road; Bis iAkande Trumpet Bridge; Gbongan – Akoda East Bypass; and Olaiya – Odi-Olowo -IsaleAro Road. While Ataoja High School is completed and waiting for commissioning, Osogbo Government High School is almost completed and will hopefully be commissioned in the coming weeks.
 
But important as these achievements are, there is still room for improvement. After all, the ruling All Progressives Party in the state won the confidence of the people on the platform of a set of promises which must be fulfilled. As I have always said, preparations for the next election started the very day the last election was won and lost. Impliedly, for Osun State, the road to 2018 actually began on August 9, 2014!
 
Therefore, even as we appreciate the trees and green pastures in Nigeria’s polity, the possibility of failure should continue to challenge the government towards tackling the immense religious, social and economic problems that have become an unfortunate blot on our democracy. The hijab brouhaha, rightly described as a pseudo-storm, is not an exception! Not only that, the people need to be reminded that this unfortunate pass is not peculiar to Osun State.
 
It is being championed by some people in high places, for pedestrian reasons and transient pleasure. In spite of this temporary setback, the state still has potentials for greatness.
May powers assigned to siphon the dividends of our hard-earned democracy BACKFIRE!
 
Komolafe writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria and can be reached at: ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk.

Justice‎ Olamide Folahanmi Oloyede, of the High Court in the state of Osun has been recommended for compulsory retirement by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
 

 
The council also stated that ‎Justice Mohammed Nasiru Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, has been kicked out of the bench for alleged misconduct.
The council said pending the time President Muhammadu Buhari and Aregbesola confirm the compulsory retirement, the NJC, in the exercise of its disciplinary powers under the constitution has suspended the two judges.
A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the council’s acting Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye‎, said: “The council under the chairmanship of the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed at its 77th meeting which was held on 15th July, 2016 recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Hon. Justice Mohammed Nasiru Yunusa of the Federal High Court of the Lagos Division and Hon. Justice Olamide Folahanmi Oloyede of the High Court of Justice, Osun State.
“‎Justice Yunusa was recommended for compulsory retirement from office to President Muhammadu Buhari pursuant to the findings by the council following the allegations contained in petitions written against him by the Civil Society Network Against Corruption that His Lordship granted interim orders and perpetual injunctions, restraining the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector General of Police, the Independent Corruption Practices and Related Offence Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting, investigating and prosecuting some persons accused of corruption in the following seven cases: FHCLCS14712015: between Simon John Adonimere & 3 Ors Vs. EFCC; FHCLCS47714: FRN V Michael Adenuga; FHCLCS134215: Senator Stella Oduah Vs. AG Federation, EFCC, ICPC & IGP; FHCLCS128515: Jyde Adelakun & Anor Vs. Chairman EFCC & Anor; FHCLCS1455: Dr. Martins Oluwafemi Thomas Vs. EFCC; FHCLCS126915: Hon Shamsudeen Abogu Vs. EFCC & Ors; and FHCLCS101215: Hon. Etete Dauzia Loya Vs. EFCC.”

The statement said that during‎ deliberations, council found as follows: “That Justice Yunusa assumed jurisdiction in the Federal High Court, Lagos, in suit FHCLCS134215 wherein the infringement of the applicant’s rights occurred in Abuja contrary to Section 46 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).
“That His Lordship contravened Rule 3.1 of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers in Suit FHCLCS144515 by claiming ignorance of the provisions of the Money Laundering Act when he made an order stopping EFCC from carrying out an investigation into a money laundering case involving $2.2 million against the applicant.
“That Hon. Justice Yunusa’s decision restraining the anti-graft agencies from carrying out their statutory functions in the first six cases mentioned is contrary to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in A.G Anambra State Vs. UBA which His Lordship quoted but did not apply in his rulings.”
On the allegations levelled against Justice Oloyede by a group, Osun Civil Societies Coalition, the council also recommended her compulsory retirement from office to the Osun governor sequel to the findings of its fact-finding committee that: “The judge failed to conduct herself in such a manner as to preserve the dignity of her office and the impartiality and independence of the judiciary when she wrote a petition against the Osun State governor and his deputy to the members of the state House of Assembly and circulated same to 36 persons/organisations.
“The petition written by the judge was said to contain political statements, unsubstantiated allegations and accusations aimed at deriding, demeaning and undermining the government of Osun State, the person and character of the governor (as one who is cruel, a liar and a traitor), his deputy and aides.
“The council also found that the petition contained statements calculated to incite the residents of Osun State against the state government and its elected officers.”
NJC added: “Justice Oloyede crossed the fundamental right of freedom of speech and created a negative perception of the Nigerian judiciary to the public.
“The allegations against the judge constitute a misconduct contrary to Section 292(1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended and Rules 1(1) and 5 of the 2016 Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has announced that twelve (12) Successful Public School Students from the State would be inducted tomorrow morning (Saturday 16th July,2016) into Segun Aina Foundation Awardees Association (SAFAA) at Segun Aina Foundation Centre, along Ikirun road, Otan Ayegbaju in Boluwaduro Local Government Area of the State.
 
 
The 12 Students came out in flying colours on merit after a rigorous screening Interview conducted for the Year 2016 Segun Aina Scholarship Award.
The students would be honoured with presentation of Scholarship Award Certificate, educational materials, honorarium and other gift items.
This was disclosed in a press statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Festus Olajide.
According to the statement, induction of the selected Studentsinto Segun Aina Foundation Awardees Association is an opportunity to participate and benefit in other rich programs and activities of the foundation.
Names of the 12 selected successful Students expected this morning at Segun Aina Foundation Centre at Otan Ayegbaju include Olarewaju Bolaji from Ilesa East Local Government, Akande Olalekan from Ede North, Olatunji Opeyemi from Ife East,Oyemomi Kehinde from Area Office, , Afolabi Olamide from Ife Central and Mustapha Lateefat from Ifelodun Local Government.
Others include Adebayo Taiwo, Adeniji Taofeek, Adepoju Ayomide, Adedoyin Adedayo, Olasupo Joshua and Oyebade Labake, who are all from Boluwaduro Local Government.
All concerned students are expected to report at Segun Aina Foundation Centre, Otan Ayegbaju by 9:00am this morning for their Induction and Awards, the statement added.

All Ministries, Departments, Agencies and State Tertiary Institutions in the state of Osun have been directed to henceforth patronise the State Printing Press for all their printing works.
 

 
This directive was given by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Leye Aina in a circular to all Agencies of the state government.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the directive became imperative in order to boost the State Internally Generated Revenue to cushion the negative effects of the dwindling federal allocation accruing to the state.
He therefore directed that all Agencies should no longer contract out their printing jobs since the Government Printing Press has all machinery and qualified personnel to handle all forms of printing work.
The Permanent Secretary equally enjoined the private sector to patronise the Government Printing Press promising that they will have value for their money if they do so.

Muyiwa  Adetiba’s piece of July 2, titled ‘Their year of innocence’ left a sour taste in the mouth. Mr. Adetiba regaled us with the nostalgia of his primary school days, which I understand to be St John Primary School, Iloro, in Ilesa. He built it up to his secondary education at another mission school, Igbobi College, in Lagos. He told tales of pranks, as if children have since stopped being children.
 

 
His thoughts are incoherent and his facts are tangled and sexed up. He romanticised with the shoeless schoolboy who received post-colonial education in mission schools in Ilesa and Lagos in the 1960s and early 1970s. He wants things to return to that state. Mr. Adetiba can be indulged in his nostalgia, but he needs not smear Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and accuse him of what he did not do.
 
For he wrote, ‘To deny the young ones their childhood innocence by prescribing a dress code that differentiates between Muslims and Christians at their critical adolescent age is to deny them those memories that I and those of my generation hold dear’. How wrong could he have been?
 
For the umpteenth time, Governor Aregbesola did not at any time prescribe different codes of dressing for Christians and Muslims. The agitation by Muslims to wear Hijab had been on long before now, long before Aregbesola became governor.
 
Permit me a recap of the Hijab saga in Osun. When the government embarked on reclassification of schools and some public secondary school pupils were transferred to other public schools, the Hijab issue which had been on before Aregbesola became governor came up again, this time in Iwo.
 
This is because the government transferred pupils from St Mary Catholic High School, St Anthony Catholic High School, United Methodist High School and Baptist Grammar School to Baptist High School, all in Iwo.
 
To be sure, all these schools, though with Christian mission names, are public schools. Now, a few Muslim girls, I think 14 of them, had been wearing the scarf from the St. Mary Catholic School and United Methodist High School, aforementioned but were stopped by Baptist High School who would not allow Hijab in the school.
 
Muslims Students Society, MSS, then took the  State Government of Osun to court, asking the court to compel the government to allow Muslim girls to wear Hijab in government owned schools. The government immediately intervened by inviting the Christians and the Muslims to a meeting in order to find amicable solution to the matter.
 
The two sides asked the government to step aside because the resolution of the meeting would not be acceptable to the side that does not feel satisfied.
 
This was when they agreed that the Christians who were not originally in the suit be permitted to join so that the two sides can ‘fight’ it out.
 
When the matter came up for hearing, the court gave an interim order that status quo ante be maintained, that is, where Hijab is in use, it should be continued but should not be extended to where it is not permitted. However, the court finally gave its judgement that it is the constitutional right of Muslim girls to wear Hijab.
 
This is what opened the Pandora box which made the ignorant and the bigoted to falsely accuse Governor Aregbesola of favouring Muslim girls to adorn Hijab. Mr. Adetiba therefore was not factually correct when he accused Aregbesola of prescribing different dress codes for public schools.
 
Yes, the Muslims had wrongly thought that the coming of Aregbesola would bring them relief, but what the accusers of Aregbesola refused to acknowledge – or even see – is that the Muslims actually went to court because they could not have their way with the governor. If the governor had favoured them as alleged, why would they go to court? Mr. Adetiba made two other mistakes, quite egregious ones, in his article. The first is the inability to distinguish epochs. The events and circumstances that shape a generation are unique to it.
 
My generation is different from my father’s, just as his differed from his own father. Then, of course, mine differed remarkably from my children. In my childhood, the house where I grew up had no fence and I cannot remember if the entrance door was ever locked. I knew everybody living one kilometre radius of our home and could walk into any house and ask for drinking water. I climbed trees, walked long distance to school and was well caned by my teachers.
 
Yet, my own children never went to school by themselves and can hardly step out of the house without someone following them. But as kids, they have handled dexterously gadgets I never saw until I became an adult. This is the stuff memories are made of.
 
Secondly, Mr. Adetiba also failed to make a distinction between the missionary schools he went to and schools that have been publicly owned more than 40 years ago. I went to Otapete Methodist Primary School between 1972 and 1978.
 
I came from a Christian home, so I took the Christian orientation of the education I received for granted. We sang and prayed every day the Christian way. By the time I was in Primary 2, I already owned and was reading the bible. It was the same when I went to Methodist High School in the same town. I have fond memories too.
 
Yet, we all came from different backgrounds – Christian, Muslim and traditional Africa, whereas these schools are public schools bearing Christian mission names. However, in 1975, the Federal Government took over the schools and adequately compensated the owners. The government now owns the schools and run them on behalf of the public.
 
The former owners cannot therefore dictate how they should be run or what to wear in them. It’s like eating your cake and still want to have it.
 
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, should stop living in denial. Public schools cannot, sensu stricto, have Christian face again.
 
Mr. Adetiba and his ilk have continued to falsely portray public schools as ‘mission schools’ and wrongly demanded that they be left in their pristine missionary form and orientation. His article was a needless diatribe against Ogbeni Aregbesola, which ended in portraying him as an impetuous, small-minded and mean-spirited person who shoots first before aiming.
 
Mr. Adetiba, as a seasoned journalist should know that facts are sacred; he should have exercised tact, wisdom and get the facts right and stick to it, instead of joining the media lynch-squad arrayed against the governor.
 
Sola Fasure, a national affairs commentator, wrote from Osogbo, Osun State.

The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has reaffirmed that agriculture is the only antidote for the economic downturn the country is going through.
 

 
Aregbesola stated this on Thursday at a crucial meeting with the farmers’ association in Erinmo, Oriade Local Government Area of the State.
 
The Governor, who went on an on-the-spot assessment of some farms in the Ijesha axis of the state, said the culture of free money has gone forever in the country.
 
He also urged beneficiaries of loans to farmers who have not paid up to meet their obligations so other farmers can benefit from the various assistance to farmers.
He called on the youth in the state to go into mechanised farming so that the country can be self-sufficient instead of relying on importation.
Aregbesola said for the country to come out of its current economic doldrums, there must be a total shift from oil money, which has contributed to total neglect of agriculture.
He said: “Today, we have seen the effect of rent economy that the country has been running for the past half a century.
 
“With the frittering away of the nation’s resources by the immediate past government and the drastic reduction of crude oil price at the international market, the country’s economy just went into recession.
“To come out of this economic logjam, we need to embark on massive agricultural practice.
“Agriculture used to be our economic mainstay during and shortly after independence.
“The discovery of oil in commercial quantity shifted our attention from agriculture to petrodollars.
“That abandonment of agriculture and the pursuit of oil money and profligacy of certain regimes in the political evolution of the country brought us to the present state of economy hardship.
“The cumulative effects of abandonment of agriculture and the culture of waste are what we are witnessing today.
“To get out of this economic hardship, we must retrace our steps back to agriculture.
“And this is why Osun has embarked on agriculture revolution and massive production of food crops.”
 
Aregbesola averred that everybody must work assiduously through farming as those who do not work cannot eat again as the situation is.
 
He saluted the courage of farmers for believing in what they are doing, promising that government will do everything within its power and resources to assist in boosting their production and harvesting capacity.
 
He stated that government would continue to provide soft loans as well as make chemicals and fertilizer available to the farmers at subsidized rate.
Aregbesola continued: “Those who do not work today will not eat.
“Everyone must contribute his or her quota to the production process.
“Farming it now the answer to our economic problem.
“Farming is the backbone of any strong and developed nation.
“We must stop our heavy reliance on imported foods.
“We should be able to feed ourselves as a nation.
“More than ever before, our government is ready to help farmers in the state in all areas they want to practise be it food or cash crop, poultry and the rest.”
 
Responding on behalf of the farmers association, the Chairman of the Farmers’ Business School, Moses Adekunle, commended the governor for his initiative of meeting the farmers right on their farms, saying this will give government the clear picture of what is happening and the challenges facing the farmers.
 
Adekunle urged the government to continue to support the farmers by providing high-yielding crop seedling, chemicals and fertilizers as affordable prices.
He said: “We are very happy to see the governor on our farms.
“This is the first time any governor will do this.
 
“This kind of meeting will give government insight about the development of agriculture in the state.
 
“It will also help policy formulation of government.
 
“We want government to speed up its rural-urban opening.
 
“Access roads to the markets after harvest is a major problems farmers are facing.
 
“If there are good roads, farm produce will reach the targeted destination on time and the kind of waste that we witness every year will reduce.”

The Chairman, Southwest Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Magnus Atilade has called for reconciliation, peace and harmony between CAN and Muslim community in Osun State for development to be realised.
 

 
Atilade, who gave the advice in a chat with Southwest Report in Lagos said all hands must be on deck so as to achieve peace in Osun State without which there would be no tangible development.
The cleric praised the efforts of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in providing free food to all students in public schools, building of new schools, new roads and extension of new roads which are praiseworthy.
He stressed that the church is not against the wearing of Hijab by Muslim girls because Catholic Rev. Sister wear it. He, however, said the school as an institution should promote uniformity which is why every school has a uniform to identify it.
On all schools being public, he said: “The mission schools established by the missionaries and other private school proprietors were forcibly taken over by the state governments.

“Ultimately our prayer is that the schools be returned to their original owners just as the former  Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did in Lagos.
“It is evident that no government can conveniently run public institutions. Why should government insist on taking over of schools?
“All over the world, no government,  be it capitalists, socialists or communists, has the sole responsibility of providing education for its people,” he said.
He lamented the non-payment of salaries by 28 state governments, saying it is pertinent for government to hand over mission schools to their original owners.

AS part of the efforts at improving the entrepreneurship skills of staff and students of Osun State Polytechnic Iree, a five-day workshop was organised for the polytechnic community on apiary, bee keeping and honey production.
 

 
A volunteer of the United States for International Development (USAID) to Nigeria, Mr. Caleb O’Biren described the apiary farming and bee keeping as a panacea to poverty, saying it is a veritable venture that could boost the nation’s economy.
 
The apiary workshop was packaged by USAID and Winrock International, a Non-Governmental Organisation, as a stable of the farmer-to-farmer programme of the organisation to boost Agricultural technology in Nigeria through trainings and workshops for officials of tertiary institutions and local farmers in the country.
 
The institution’s Media Relation’s Officer, Mr. Tope Abiola, said participants at the workshop were trained on modern technology of Bee Keeping and Honey Production which the USAID official described as a veritable venture that could be used to provide jobs for unemployed Nigerians.
 
Bee keeping specialist Mr. O’biren, an American based apiary and bee keeping specialist, declared that “apiary is a good venture that could be done in local communities with a little capital to produce honey in large quantity”.
 
While explaining the importance of honey and demand for it in all parts of the world, O’biren explained that “honey production is not capital intensive, its production can survive a country, because it is what is needed by all homes in a country”.
 
“It is a daily need that is used for treatment of certain ailments. It is also used to prevent certain deceases which could cause damage to some cells in our bodies”.
 
Explaining why the Osun State Polytechnic Iree organised the training for staffers of the institution and farmers in Iree Community, the Rector of the institution who is the facilitator of the workshop, Dr. Jacob Olusola Agboola stated that it was part of the capacity building and skills acquisition program embarked upon recently by the institution.
 
Dr. Agboola stressed that “apiary and bee keeping is a type of agriculture that we must encourage in our community to engage our teeming youths in the country, who are unemployed, while employed individuals can also embark on it to boost their economic power.
 
He added that it is part of efforts of the Department of Agric Engineering and Bioenvironmental Studies of the Polytechnic to train local farmers in the state on modern Agricultural skills.